Alexis Delahanty turned a reversal of form into a regional championship. Natasha Fruh barely broke a sweat before mounting the title podium.
Hoquiam senior Delahanty and North Beach senior Fruh were among the champions in the Regional Girls Wrestling Tournament on Saturday at Aberdeen’s Sam Benn Gym.
The Bobcats, with four state qualifiers but no individual champions, wound up second in the team competition. Class 4A Union of Vancouver took team honors with 149 1/2 points. Attempting to repeat last year’s regional title, the Bobcats wound up with 129 1/2 points.
In all, the Twin Harbors will be represented by a six-woman contingent in the girls portion of Mat Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. The top three at each weight earned state berths.
Had there been a Wrestler of the Meet award, Fruh clearly would have been a contender. The North Beach standout, who hasn’t yet gone the distance in a postseason match, spent exactly 70 seconds on the mat Saturday in claiming the 235-pound title.
After receiving a first-round bye, Fruh needed only 21 seconds to pin R.A. Long’s Aiyanah Valencia in the semifinals.
She spotted Kelso’s Eva Medina an early takedown in the championship match, but promptly reversed her and completed the pin in 49 seconds.
Delahanty emphatically avenged a subregional loss from the previous week by decisioning Castle Rock’s Kylee Jacobs, 8-1, in the 110-pound final.
The aggressor from the outset, Delahanty took command with a takedown and three-point near-fall midway through the second round and dominated the remainder of the contest.
“This week, she recognized what her opponent was doing and capitalized on her opponent’s moves,” Hoquiam coach Buck Giles said.
Aberdeen actually had a shot at a second straight team crown until going 0-for-3 in the title round.
Woodland’s Ashlyn Daugherty, who had led Aberdeen’s Faith Cardenas before being pinned in last year’s regional final, didn’t allow Cardenas a comeback opportunity this time. Breaking open the 100-pound title match with a takedown-near fall combination in the second round, Daugherty posted a 9-1 major decision victory.
The Heikkila sisters were Aberdeen’s other runners-up. Skyview’s Cece Sayler took down AHS senior Karli Heikkila barely 30 seconds into the 170-pound final and finished her off in 1:26.
Freshman Tatum Heikkila owned a 7-5 lead over Seton Catholic’s Maritza Chavez-Anguiano midway through the second round of an entertaining 190-pound title contest. Chavez-Anguiano, however, reversed the momentum with a takedown and near-fall near the second of the second stanza and went on to a 14-9 win.
Senior Mackayla Waltee was Aberdeen’s other state qualifier. Waltee used a half-Nelson to pin Fort Vancouver’s Katelyn Cera in a winner-to-state, loser-out third-place match at 155 pounds.
Bobcat coach Craig Yakovich was philosophical about his team’s showing.
“What this tournament is all about is advancing,” Yakovich said. “Yeah, I’d like to have had an individual champion. But I’ll take my handful of (qualifiers) to the Dome and be happy to do so.”
Yakovich had received the District IV Coach of the Year award in ceremonies earlier in the day.
Hoquiam’s Mercedes Pinnell was one of the tourney’s hard-luck performers.
A subregional champion at 120 pounds, Pinnell suffered an elbow injury in practice Friday. Clearly not at her best, she dropped a 7-2 decision to Kelso’s Kyla Shoddy in the third-place match.
With fourth-place finishes, Pinnell, Aberdeen’s Ciera Skelly (130 pounds) and Savannah Chandler (145) and Raymond’s Johanna Crow (190) will be state alternates.
